1st plot
point – launches the story.The
story question is raised.Solid
attraction is developed between the H&H, even though they may start out as
arch enemies – there is this nagging attraction that cannot be denied.

Moving up toward the
first peak of the W – The H&H get to know each other better, 1st
kiss, and many problems arise.Stakes
get higher.Matters get worse.

Peak of W -
Middle of the book –A monkey wrench gets thrown into the mix.Often a love scene can do this – irrevocably
bonding the H/H to each other.This is
the point of no return.

In the second half of the book the heroine must deal with the
fact that she has feelings for the hero.Romances are all about emotion, emotion, emotion.Don’t be afraid to delve deeply into the
issues of loving someone who, by all outward signs, is the worst person in the
world for you.

Sliding down that W
peak – first there is that rosy glow, some reflection, the future looks
bright!

Bottom of W –
Plot point two – This is the second major turning point which leads to an
inevitable crisis.

The tough climb up
that last W peak – Crisis!What we
call in romance – the darkest moment.All seems lost.There is no way their love can pull through
this crisis.The heroine makes a
difficult choice and devises a plan.

Heroine continues up
W slope – feeling like Sisyphus attempting to follow through on her
plan.A change in attitude is required,
rededication to the plot adventure – the heroine commits to the romantic
involvement vowing to work things out.

BUT the hero makes a sacrifice of his own – for the
heroine.Each character must give up
something in order to grow.With this
comes newfound wisdom for both, willingness to compromise, which is total
necessity for love to survive.

Here is where the Romance promise comes into play:The heroine reaches final level of stability,
on higher ground than where she first started, and she has found her true love
in the process.

Let’s use a recent popular movie to illustrate the process:

THE PROPOSAL –

Opening scene –
Super editor Margaret is getting deported to Canada and won’t be able to come
back for one year, which means she’ll lose her job – the job she lives for
since she has no other life.

Lead up to plot point
I – i.e. call to action – She bamboozles her assistant, Andrew, into
marrying her.He seizes the moment and
makes sure she’ll make him an editor if he goes along with her ruse.She agrees.He makes a completely phony statement to convince the publishers - “We
are two people who weren’t supposed to fall in love…”This is a foreshadowing statement.

He takes her home for his Gammy’s birthday.Margaret realizes Andrew comes from money,
has a family that loves him, and isn’t the person she has pegged him to
be.His family throws a party in honor
of their fake engagement.They humiliate
each other.They realize they need to
quit bickering and act like they’re in love in order to pull this off.

Plot point I -
They kiss and feel something.The story
question:Will Margaret and Andrews be
able to pull this off?

Confrontation or
getting to know you phase –

They have to share a bedroom.They bond singing a silly song together.She gets to know his family

The screws tighten
when they run into each other naked.

Midpoint (tip of
W) Andrew’s family forces them to marry right then.Margaret gets swept up with the preparations
and with his family.She tries on his
Gammy’s wedding dress.

Confrontation She
has forgotten what it is like to have a family. Here’s the monkey wrench: she feels guilty about her manipulating
plan. She almost drowns.Andrew rescues
her and comforts her.She feels cared
for and it shakes her up.

Plot point II -- The
immigration officer shows up, and Andrew’s father makes a deal to get him
off.Andrew doesn’t accept the deal and
tells Margaret he really wants to marry her.

Crisis (The black
moment) – Margaret can’t go through with the wedding.She confesses in front of everyone that it is
all a sham, takes full responsibility, and runs out.

Andrew chases her to the airport to confront her

The screws tighten - Margaret
gets away, but not before Andrew realizes he really has fallen in love with
her.

Climax – Andrew
shows up in New York where Margaret is clearing out her office.In front of everyone, he asks her to marry
him.She admits she’s more comfortable
in life alone.He won’t let her take the
easy way out.

Anti-climax –
They kiss in front of everyone.

The story is brought full circle when she accepts his honest
and heartfelt proposal.

A good romance will clutch your heart, make you laugh or cry
(hopefully both) and leave you with a good feeling.That feeling is called hope, and hope is a
hot commodity these days!

One more thing the W plot paradigm is good for is to help
form your structure when writing your book’s synopsis!

Once upon a time, Dr. Daniel Delaney had it all. But he lost it in the blink of an eye, and he won’t let himself fall again—not even for his dedicated new assistant, Keela O’Mara, and her adorable, lonely little girl, Anna. Resisting a starry-eyed four-year-old is tough enough. Denying her perfect, loving single mom may be more than Daniel can handle…

Hi Patsy - would you call the hero's journey formulaic? Some would, but I call it plot structure. There are certain expectations with all genres, when not met, the readers of those beloved genres feel cheated. What do you write?